Our Hearts Are Broken – A Prayer for All Little Aprons

President Obama spoke for us all when he said, “our hearts are broken …”. For families who have endured this unimaginable loss – the death of a child – the pain is palpable, and raw, and fresh regardless of the amount of time that has passed since we experienced our own loss.

There is no preparation for this kind of tragedy. There are no exercises we can do, or books we can read to prepare us to hear the words, “I’m so sorry, your daughter/son is gone”.

As my blog followers know, my family and I lost our little Elise less than 2 months ago. The pain in our hearts is amplified by the realization that there are 20 families tonight who have stepped into the hell that we are still battling. We know all too well that they are waiting to hold their child, to somehow will the miracle of life back into their lifeless bodies, certain that the paramedics are wrong but are held back by the necessary yet painful police and medical examiner processes. We understand in a way that only those in this exclusive club can understand.

We know that the police and other public safety personnel are professionally and compassionately carrying out their duties while inside they grieve as parents, grandparents, and human beings who like us do not understand why children must die. This must be especially hard for law enforcement in situations of senseless violence.

We know that the road ahead for the siblings will be tough. Parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles will hover a little closer, hug them tighter, grieve for what these little survivors have lost and will struggle to answer the questions asked in befuddled innocence, “Why did sissy (or brother) die?”.

There are no answers.

Our hearts go out to the parents, grandparents and families who are reeling from this terrible tragedy. We send them our prayers for strength, for comfort and we take some small comfort in the knowledge that they will be surrounded by their own army of angels in their community as we were in ours.

We know that there are no words that anyone can say that make sense, give you any comfort, or even penetrate the fog of grief that has engulfed you…we grieve for you and with you.

Thank you, Kelly and I agree with you. Truly, the only path out of the darkness that surrounds you when you experience something like this is to focus your energies on making some good come from it, and to light the way or ease the path for someone else.